The Ancient Book of Power

Chapter Twenty-One: The Great Plan and its Execution

The final undertakings of the great plan started on a Tuesday, and did not finish until Saturday, and it kept them all up two days in a row, with a few hours sleep each of the subsequent days until Saturday. Several aspects took quite a lot of planning, and one aspect would simply take a lot of bravado on Kinnikashee's part, who insisted on being shape-shifted into a dog for his part. Ontiwa was quite sad that he would not be coming with them.

Bekma, Oswaa, Maurinn, Mauriel, Dalbreath, Deearo, Islann, and Kinnikashee all piled into Islann's flying star glider on a Sunday morning, and they all knew their parts well by then. Bekma shape-shifted Kinnikashee into a big red and black dog with beautiful floppy ears. This change was because he had been in the service of the evil wizard for a long time, and he knew how to get past the evil lion that guarded the tower, which contrary to Oswaa and Dalbreath's dream was not a lion that Oswaa knew. They flew off toward the tower in the early morning light of dawn.

King Arathanor watched them in his crystal ball, for he was the most evil wizard in all of Ha Mesh, and to date no one had ever gotten one over on him. The book was his, and he intended for it to stay that way. He had huge plans for the book, but he too had not mastered the triple speech required to open the book, but he felt if anyone could open it Dalbreath could. He notified his servants to be very kind to their guests. The trap had to be set perfectly. He smiled and twirled his mustache in that annoying way that all evil wizards twirl their mustache, and then he called for his favorite evil apprentices, Leona and Dezaree, who were charmingly beautiful in their evil. "Bring our guest to me fully charmed and unsuspecting of any evil here. Our trap must be perfect. You both will suffer if it is not."

They both smiled, and even he was charmed for a second. "As you wish, master."

"We'll let their plan play out before we spring the trap on them."

"Excellent master." And so they went to prepare for their guest's arrival.

Islann flew fairly slow over Ha Mesh to the Black tower of Istytall so that everyone could go over their parts. Most would stay in the ship with Islann until the appointed time. Bekma, Oswaa, and Dalbreath would go in to see the wizard, with Kinnikashee along in the form of a dog, Bekma's loyal dog. Islann landed on the landing pad near a high entrance into the tower. Bekma winked at Dalbreath, and so they went out together, down the ramp, with Maurinn left in the ship bunching up part of her dress in tremendous worrisome gestures for her son. She had voted for Dalbreath not to come at all, nor Deearo. But the wizards convinced her that their plan would never work without Dalbreath at their side. Mauriel tried to allay her fears, but Maurinn was his mother, and that automatically meant tons of worry and tons of heartache. She calmed herself as she watched them walk down the ramp of the star glider. She too had a part to play, and for her son's sake she would play it well. If the book could save her son, then by all means it was time to get it back.

Unbeknownst to all of them Leanha had followed the three wizards and their shape-shifted dog off the star glider, only she followed them in an invisible form that none of them could see or detect, even Oswaa.

Leona and Dezaree met them at the upper entrance to the black tower, which was where the star glider landing pad was. "Greetings," said Leona.

"Right this way," said Dezaree.

They followed them into the tower and down an arched hallway inlaid with fantastical colored mosaics in various geometric designs, like interweaving mandalas. "You will like our master," said Leona. "He's so knowledgeable about everything under the sun."

Bekma's eyebrow went up. "Everything, huh? Who knew?"

Dalbreath hid a smirk with his sleeve.

"Oh yes," said Dezaree. "He is quite knowing."